Politics

If you’re a true New Yorker, you’ve heard the phrase: “Fulano-De-Tal is from THAT block.”  Furthermore, if you’re from South Bronx growing up in the 80’s, more than likely, legendary photographer Ricky Flores has the images to prove it. Now, what if I told you a handful of those images are being turned into large-scale […]

When analyzing today’s political landscape after the emmergence of the Donald Trump tidal wave, I could not help noticing the loyalty of some Hispanics to the Republican Party —specifically those that are of Puerto Rican origin, and especially those currently on the island— even after the party’s increase of extremist and racist slurs and policies […]

Here’s the history lesson you should have been given before filling out the census with Hispanic or Latino. During the 1830s, a French intellectual named Michel Chevalier imagined that the romance language-speaking people living in this part of the world constituted a Latin race that could align itself with European countries that also spoke a […]

Trauma-induced bigotry is an all-too-common but rarely acknowledged phenomenon. An act committed by a person of a certain race or ethnicity leads the victim or their family members to resent all people of that culture. A critical thinker can easily look past a person’s skin color and accept that one person who commits a crime does not […]

Latinos are receiving increasing attention in American politics. Candidates and their campaigns must decide how best to reach out to this growing community. Trump has chosen to double-down on anti-Mexican rhetoric, but other candidates have chosen another language altogether. Democrats and Republicans alike have chosen to address Latinos in Spanish. Hillary Clinton tweeted how to say “Go […]

In Latino literature and film, a common narrative is assimilation, where the protagonist wrestles with preserving the “traditional value” of the old world while embracing the “progress and enlightenment” of the new. By the end, even as the protagonist learns to appreciate and respect the values of their elders, what they really embrace and love are […]

It’s not true that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump only represents the extreme wing or “crazies” of the GOP. As a leader in numerous polls, Trump exemplifies the party’s true colors: xenophobic, mean-spirited and pro-1 percent. Despite how the other GOP presidential candidates or Republican leadership try to distance themselves from his vitriolic language, Trump’s boorish […]

Last night on Latino Rebels Radio, we spoke with Sen. Ramón Luis Nieves, a member of Puerto Rico’s Popular Democratic Party (PPD) who represents San Juan, Guaynabo and Aguas Buenas. The PPD and its leader, Gov. Alejandro García, is currently the party leading the island’s government during an economic crisis getting more national attention from […]

Today, during a cross-border running race that brought runners through El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who ran the race, decided to show off his new baseball cap—a clear response to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hat. The Texas Democrat’s social media account made sure that people saw his hat: . […]

Last night, a few of us were a bit perplexed by a tweet in Spanish sent out by Hillary Clinton’s campaign: Hemos tenido muchos abuelos en @lacasablanca, pero nunca hemos tenido una abuela. —Hillary en @scdp: http://t.co/wht093L78R — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 6, 2015 “We’ve had a lot of grandfathers in the White House, but […]

Just play the tape from earlier tonight. We must insist on assimilation. Immigration without assimilation is an invasion. We need to tell folks who want to come here come here legally. Learn English, adopt our values, roll up your sleeves and get to work. I’m tired of the hyphenated Americans and the division. You so […]

When I lived in Old San Juan —en la calle San Fransisco— there was an old man who walked the streets of that grande dame for hours with a bullhorn, waving a huge Puerto Rican flag. Like a town crier, he yelled again and again: “La colonia se va, se va. Se va la colonia.” It […]

This past June, the scene at the Trump Tower resembled a promotional event for the WWE. Donald Trump was announcing his run for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination and in his infamous boisterous and unsavory way he said words that will forever will remembered by U.S. Latino voters. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending […]

In 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. One of the law’s accomplishments gave low-income families access to affordable health care by expanding Medicaid. The passing of ACA was a momentous occasion for many U.S. citizens, especially those who earn lower wages. Nonetheless, ACA still excludes a large portion of […]

Pro-statehood activists often tout about how the quality of life in the 50 U.S. states is superior to Puerto Rico’s. Pundits cite stateside per capita income, school retention rates and the lower cost of electricity of the mainland U.S. as reasons why Puerto Rico should become a state. About a year ago, the pro-statehood New […]

The Ley de La Mordaza marked a notoriously dark chapter in Puerto Rico’s history. In force through much of the 1950s, Law 53 made it against the law to own a Puerto Rican flag, form a group, or write, state or hum anything that might be viewed as an affirmation of a separate Puerto Rican nationality. It’s […]

Yesterday, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) spent about five minutes speaking to the U.S. House of Representatives about Puerto Rico. This morning, Gutiérrez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, shared more thoughts about the current situation. Here is the transcript of Gutiérrez’s prepared remarks this morning, which his office released to the press: Rep. Gutiérrez on […]

Part Two is here. Earlier today on the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), who is of Puerto Rican descent, gave his colleagues a history lesson about Puerto Rico and its current debt crisis: The following were the prepared remarks Gutiérrez’s office released to the press: I want to make an […]

This Saturday, Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley will visit Puerto Rico to meet with residents of the U.S. territory and talk policy with the island’s political leaders, his campaign confirmed this morning to Latino Rebels. O’Malley would become the first 2016 Democratic candidate to visit Puerto Rico on an official campaign stop. (Republican Jeb Bush […]

Late last week, Sandra G. Hassink, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), wrote a letter to Secretary Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security, stating that even though AAP applauds Johnson’s recent annoucement about policy changes in immigrant family detention centers, the organization “remain[s] concerned that continued detainment of any children and […]

Earlier today on NBC’s Meet the Press, Pat Buchanan (yes, he is still alive) was talking Donald Trump (what a surprise) and why Trump is appealing to a certain section of the GOP. This is what Buchanan said… on national TV: Later in the show, Telemundo’s and MSNBC’s José Diaz-Balart, who on Thursday got a […]